Nigeria GDP Q4 2015

Nigeria: GDP in 2015 records softest expansion in this millennium

February 3, 2016

The decline in oil prices caused the Nigerian economy to suffer its worst economic downturn since 1999. Lower oil revenues dampened economic activity, while authorities’ policy to keep an artificially-strong naira prompted the currency to depreciate sharply in the parallel markets, fueled inflationary pressures and restricted import of goods. Moreover, political uncertainty related to the delay in the appointment of the new government following March elections had a negative impact on economic dynamics.

The economy grew 3.0% in 2015. The print was below the 6.2% rise tallied in 2014 and was broadly in line with the 3.1% result that FocusEconomics panelists had projected. More detailed national accounts data, including information for Q4, will be released on 24 February.

The National Bureau of Statistics foresees the economy expanding 3.8% in 2016, before accelerating to 5.0% in 2017. FocusEconomics panelists project the economy to grow 3.5% in 2016, which is down 0.3 percentage points from last month’s estimate. For 2017, panelists expect the economy to grow 4.6%.

At its 21–22 November meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) left the monetary policy rate as well as all other monetary policy parameters unchanged, meeting market expectations.

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